


Turning Point

by Ysabel (Mystical_Isabel)



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Development, F/M, Gen, Internal Conflict, Minor Violence, Post-Season/Series 03, World Exploration, slow plot, the good guys win
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:48:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29970735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystical_Isabel/pseuds/Ysabel
Summary: Uniting forces against a common enemy is easier said than done, and not all is water under the bridge. What if changing sides is easier?The thing about wars is they always leave casualties.
Relationships: Daniel LaRusso & Johnny Lawrence, Robby Keene & Johnny Lawrence
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Back to the start

**Author's Note:**

> If this is your first time reading you can disregard this note.
> 
> For those who did, I changed the summary and added some tags to expand more on what the story will explore.
> 
> Short chapters. I appreciate you giving this a chance!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW on the end note. Don't read if you don't want to get spoiled, but please do if you think it might affect you.

The image of Robby on the floor, hurt by none other than Johnny himself, was something that kept haunting him. He wasn't sure if he could go through with training his students to win against his son, which the tournament would likely come to. It was all a twisted mess. He groaned and kneaded his forehead with a hand. The sun shone harshly down on the Miyagi-Do dojo, and Johnny desperately wished for a cold beer to soothe the heat and the pain. It would make it all better. But LaRusso– Daniel– had been adamant. No more drinking. At least until the tournament.

The week had been a bad one, with Johnny almost losing his patience a couple of times, as Daniel dismissed some of his best ideas for drills, calling them crazy, and him nuts. Instead, they'd mostly been doing chores, katas, and girly stuff like breathing yoga-like exercises.

 _I"t's not girly, Johnny_ ," Daniel had protested when Johnny had made a snide comment. " _It helps build muscle memory and peace of mind, OK?"_

Right. Pussy shit that wouldn't help them at the tournament at all.

Johnny was reaching his breaking point, and on top of that, he and Carmen hadn't really talked since the fight at LaRusso's place.

Today was Saturday. The last students, Miguel, Hawk, and Mitch, finally left for lunch, and only Daniel and Johnny remained. LaRusso kneeled to pick some of the leftover materials from today's lesson from the grass. 

“Hey Johnny, mind giving me a hand?” Daniel asked, with his best car dealer voice, but Johnny shook his head.

“We really need to talk.”

Daniel nodded, noticing Johnny’s twitching from side to side. That usually meant something wasn’t quite right. He squared his shoulders. “Yeah, I guess we do.” He motioned to the inside of Miyagi’s house so they could eat a snack like they usually did after a lesson.

Johnny sighed, clenching his hands into fists then relaxing, as Miguel had taught him. “Daniel, listen. When you proposed the merge you said we were going to be partners. Equals.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Sure. And?”

 _And?_ Daniel couldn’t be this oblivious. “That means you have to trust me! And you keep rejecting my ideas, in front of the class. That doesn’t seem like something an equal would do, LaRusso!” Johnny raised his voice in agitation.

Daniel frowned and tensed, ready for a fight. So he was LaRusso again, was he? “Well, I’m sorry that I’m not on board with putting my students in danger!” He gestured with his hands as he spoke, big movements to get his point across about the seriousness of the situation.

Johnny shook his head. This wasn’t working. LaRusso wasn’t even considering he might be wrong. “Don’t patronize me, man.”

Daniel sighed.

“Why don’t we talk inside?”

“Pass.” Johnny was frustrated and he didn’t want to be under LaRusso’s roof longer than he needed to be, or he might accidentally start another fight, which he didn't need. He headed outside.

* * *

Johnny had been walking for twenty or thirty minutes, trying to clear his mind, trying that breathing technique Daniel had taught him, but it was no use. He considered calling Bobby, but then dismissed the idea. Bobby was probably still disappointed in him about missing his meeting with Robby at juvie, which, to be fair, he had a right to be.

He stopped once he realized he’d been walking without really thinking about the destination, but as he turned the corner, a familiar building with a distinctive logo and letters appeared.

His heartbeat accelerated. His mind flashed back to his teen years of training at the old dojo, being Kreese's star pupil, the rush of control, of strength, being able to channel his anger into powerful strikes and kicks.

He remembered that mantra like a creed.

 _“What do we study here?!”_ Sensei Kreese's voice echoed in his mind.

 _"The way of the fist, sir!"_ His own mental voice answered in the scratchy higher pitch that he used to have as a teen, almost automatically, and he could hear the other students chorusing along.

_"And what way is that?!"_

_“Strike first, strike hard, no mercy, sir!”_

It was messed up, but Cobra Kai hadn't always been bad. Once upon a time, it had given him the sense of belonging he had craved so much and had never gotten in school or at home.

Johnny stepped inside and sat down near the entrance, his legs under him like he used to do at training sessions.

He had met his best friends here. His brothers. Dutch. Always fierce, loyal, protective, brave. Dutch wasn't afraid to throw his life on the line for his friends. Johnny missed him and vowed to visit him at jail.

Bobby. They still saw each other sometimes, but his friend was now busy with his flock, or whatever Bobby not-a-priest Brown called the fellows who went to his church. Johnny grinned. It was easy to rile Bobby up with that joke. There was a reason they had been closer among their group. Bobby had always been very supportive, and so strong. Still was.

Jimmy was surprisingly fun and spontaneous, and he loved his friends to pieces. It was nice to get to see that side of him when to others he seemed shier and calmer. Ha. Still, Jimmy had been the first to settle down and start a family, and Johnny felt really happy for him and proud to be his friend.

And last but not least…

At this point, Johnny shifted, his legs starting to get numb from sitting at the position for so long. He crisscrossed them instead, palming them to get the blood flowing again.

Tommy.

Johnny ached for him. Tommy had been the youngest, and Johnny got the sense that Tommy had spent a lot of his time trying to measure up to them, but that had never been necessary. They loved him as he was, their loud-mouthed younger brother. They had brought him under their wings (or scales) almost as soon as he joined Cobra Kai.

Something tickled at Johnny's cheek. As he rubbed the spot, he realized what that was and gasped. He was crying. He never openly cried, not in a long time, but he was now.

Where had their lives gone? He missed the old Cobra Kai, his old life before Daniel fucking LaRusso intruded and ruined everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:
> 
> To be super clear: the tags are there for a reason. This fic WILL have a happy ending. It won't get super dark, but if you watched season 3 you know that Kreese offered Johnny the chance to rejoin him and Cobra Kai, and Johnny rejected the offer all those times.
> 
> So I wanted to play with the idea of what it would take for Johnny to accept. The answer: emotional manipulation.
> 
> Again, it won't get super dark, not more than the show already has, anyway, and it will be some time before we get there because I also want to explore more of the universe and have the characters develop before the finale. If you want more info, or just to talk, you can DM me on discord. My account is Ysabel#8233. If you do DM me please tell me who you are. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Daniel watched Johnny leave, biting his lip. He didn't know what to say to Johnny to appease him. He hadn't meant to be harsh, but Daniel was under a lot of stress as well. What had all that been about? He sighed and went inside the house. Maybe what Johnny needed was some time to cool off, and if Daniel went after him they would only end up arguing again.

"Hey, dad." Sam waved at him from the small kitchenette table, a half-eaten sandwich in her hand. 

He gave her a small smile before grabbing a dish and a sandwich for himself, the events from earlier today still fresh on his mind.

"Is everything all right?" Sam asked, angling her body so she didn't have to twist her neck to look at him. He noticed her hair was tied in a ponytail today. "Where is Sensei Lawrence?"

“He left,” Daniel admitted, before taking a bite off the sandwich. It was good, but his mind wasn’t focused on the food. Rather, it was replaying the events from earlier.

Johnny had been suggesting going out to a junkyard or suspending a rope on top of a pole with fire slowly burning from the bottom to motivate them further, and he mentioned having his students climbing on a cement truck with fresh cement. That’s when Daniel had lost it.

_“Are you freaking nuts? That’s crazy! They’re kids, Johnny, they’re not in the military! Did you really not think that they could have gotten seriously injured or stuck on that truck?!"_

Sam seemed to read his mind as she stared at him with her blue eyes so similar to her mother’s, and as with Amanda, Daniel felt exposed. “Was this about what happened earlier?” She leaned forward in the chair, and Daniel had to give her his full attention. His eyebrows lowered with regret and he nodded.

“Maybe I overreacted, but you heard his ideas, they’re dangerous!”

Sam hmmed. “I really thought so too at first, dad, but Miguel told me they really helped him and the other Eagle Fangs become stronger. So it can’t be that dangerous if they were able to do it, right? Maybe you could give one of his ideas a try?”

Daniel pressed his tongue between his lips, considering. “Yeah, guess you’re right.”

She smiled, and Daniel felt it as an approval. He felt pride for his daughter. She was already a better person than he was. “Besides,” she added. “Maybe you can choose one of his less risky ideas?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right, and I can keep Johnny from going too far if I’m there.”

Sam stood up as she finished her sandwich. “Exactly! Well, I’m leaving, but I hope you and Mr. Lwrence can reach an agreement.”

Daniel sighed. He remembered how great it had felt when he and Chozen had talked and sparred things out. Why couldn’t it be as easy with Johnny? As Sam left, he recalled the students’ reaction to their argument. Miguel and Hawk had stepped up to Johnny, ready to defend him, but some of the other Eagle-Fangs had shifted their feet or frowned, and some of his own students also shot Johnny looks of disbelief. Daniel groaned, fingers on his forehead. Johnny had been right about one thing: Daniel should have at least waited to talk to him privately. It didn’t give the best image and it had been disrespectful. Johnny deserved an apology if not more.

* * *

After a few minutes of letting his sadness and regret out, Johnny sighed. He knew what he wanted to do now. The black words on the white wall looked ominous, no longer giving him a comforting feeling. He needed to get out. Back in the 80s, when he'd felt down, there was a group of people, besides Ali, who always knew how to cheer him up, and it was hard to believe they had distanced so much from each other since then.

He walked out of the dojo. The traffic was more active at this time. He remembered he hadn't eaten lunch, and his stomach growled. He recalled the restaurant that used to be in front of the dojo, but it was a different building now. Everything had changed since then, except this place, for some reason.

He opened his phone. Not the expensive one he had thrown away at the beach, but a basic second-hand one that LaRusso had given him, _so we can communicate outside of the dojo._

He scrolled through his contact list and pressed the call button.

"Hey, man. Are you busy?"


End file.
